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International Solvent Extraction Conference 1971 ISEC '71, which will be held in The Hague, The Netherlands, from 18th to 23rd April, 1971, is being sponsored by the Society of Chemical Industry in association with the Koninklijk Instituut van Ingenieurs, the Institution of Chemical Engineers and the Koninklijke Nederlandse Chemische Vereniging. The Working Party on Distillation, Absorption and Extraction of the European Federation of Chemical Engineering is participating in the Conference, which is the 101st event of the Federation. The scope of the Conference covers the entire science and technology of liquid-liquid extraction as applied in all branches of industry. Thus sessions will cover both chemical and chemical engineering aspects of the subject as applied to both inorganic and organic solutes. The conference aims to bring together academic and industrial workers in the field from all parts of the world. The programme includes over 100 papers by authors in 26 countries. Full details of the papers, together with registration forms, are contained in a detailed programme, copies of which are now available from: ISEC '71, 14 Belgrave Square, London, S.W.1, U.K. Department of Mining and Mineral Technology of the Royal School of Mines Postgraduate Courses Technical and economic challenges facing the minerals industry, together with progressive change in methods and equipment, increasingly necessitate re-training of experienced professional engineers who aim for top places. In order to meet this need, this Department has for some years run one year M.Sc. courses. Engineers, often sponsored by their employers, have a choice of three courses which are respectively devoted to mining, applied rock mechanics or mineral process design. The course in Mining is divided into five subjects, which are treated from the business management point of view. It is intended to provide middle management with a knowledge of those techniques that are required by the mining engineering function in the preparation of modern projects. The course in Mineral Process Design provides a systematic use of mineral sciences, engineering and economics for ore testing and process design, so as best to balance the technical and financial requirements for specific mineral resources. The course in Engineering Rock Mechanics is designed to provide a specialized training in the engineering applications of rock mechanics for engineers and geologists, so that they are equipped to treat a wide variety of problems in mining and civil engineering. Prerequisite qualifications are a good first degree in a related subject, plus industrial experience: The rewards include an M.Sc. of the University of London and the Diploma of the Imperial College (DIC). The limited number of places available (12 in each group) makes early application advisable. Full details are available from the Registrar, Imperial College, London, S.W.7.

By J. J. Cilliers, J-A. Lamamy, J. N. Rasera, K. Hadler

Production of oxygen on the moon can be achieved by reduction of lunar soil. One such reduction technology, hydrogen reduction, favours a high proportion of ilmenite in the feedstock. Ilmenite is present in lunar soil as a minor mineral phase, but it can be upgraded using electrostatic separation. This study presents the results of a preliminary investigation into the operating parameters and sensitivities of a free-fall electrostatic mineral separator for lunar applications. Samples of ballotini and ilmenite as well as simple binary mixtures of the two were tribocharged on copper and passed through a uniform electrostatic field. The field is varied to change the electrostatic force acting on the particles. The proportion of material reporting to the positive electrode collectors, negative electrode collectors or the central collector was measured to determine the separation performance. The data confirmed that the charge transferred from the tribocharger to each species is in agreement with the triboelectric series; ballotini was found to charge positively on copper and ilmenite negatively. Particle-particle contacts were dominant, however, resulting in a somewhat symmetrical particle distribution in the collectors. These findings indicate that the copper tribocharger design requires optimisation in order to substantially increase particle-wall contacts. Four binary mixtures with feed grades of ilmenite ranging from 5% to 20% were prepared and tested. This study found that a higher ilmenite head grade resulted in a higher concentrate grade (26.3% from a head grade of 20%) with low recovery (3.4%). In contrast, the lower feed grade resulted in a low concentrate grade but higher recovery. The mass yield of ilmenite was 1.4 times greater for the highest-grade feed than for the lowest. A subsequent study into the reprocessing of middling fraction found a nearly constant relationship between cumulative grade and recovery. This is the first investigation into the effect of feed grade on the concentrate grade and recovery for lunar mineral processing. Keywords: Lunar resources, beneficiation, electrostatic, SRU, ISRU

Jan 1, 2020

By Z. Gxowa, L. H. Chown, U. Curle, G. Govender

This work evaluates the deformation behaviour, at warm working temperatures, of green particle-reinforced aluminium composites produced by powder blending in a high-energy ball mill. The work focuses on metal matrix composites (MMCs) based on the 2124-Al alloy, reinforced with 10 or 15 vol.% SiC and metal matrix nanocomposites (MMNCs) based on the 2124-Al alloy, reinforced with 5 or 10 vol.% Al2O3. Three batches for each powder were blended and powder properties such as particle size distribution (PSD) and shape were consistent after blending. It was observed that a more uniform distribution of the reinforcement phase in the aluminium alloy matrix was achieved in 2124-Al/Al2O3 than in 2124- Al/SiC composites. The powders (unreinforced 2124-Al and blended) were initially over-aged at 350°C for 2 hours to reverse any natural ageing that may have occurred prior to use. The over-ageing was incorporated to improve compressibility of the powders with the aim of achieving green compacts with higher integrity. Uniaxial compression tests performed at ambient temperature on a Gleeble® 3500 thermomechanical simulator were unsuccessful as the green compacts fragmented. Engineering stress-strain curves showed that green compacts of unreinforced 2124-Al, 10%SiC MMC and 5%Al2O3 MMNC deformed in a similar manner at ambient temperature and had the same compressive fracture stress of approximately 170 MPa. When the deformation temperature was increased from ambient to warm working temperatures (170–280°C) it was observed that electrical resistance heating (the heating mode of the Gleeble®) of unreinforced Al alloy, MMC and MMNC green compacts did not occur. This was attributed to the high electrical conductivity of aluminium, which resulted in poor heat generation due to the low electrical resistance in the samples. It was presumed that the small sample size (d=8 mm, h=12 mm) also caused rapid heat loss. After further experimentation, the green compacts were heated successfully by insulating the samples to retain heat. It was found that at 280°C, increasing the soaking time from 6 to 20 minutes decreased flow stress and improved plastic flow in the 2124-Al/10%SiC green compact.

Jan 1, 2016

The response was good-one of the best the SAIMM has had to its various questionnaires. 231 replies were received from 2768 members representing a response of 8,35%. For fellows and Members together, the response was 13,7%. The spread of responses based on respondents' work situation appeared to be well balanced with some bias from those in consulting organizations. Members' perceptions of their employers' positions withrespect to environmental management looked somewhat optimistic, but it is encouraging to note that they reported that more than half were developing environmental management systems. Training of varying degree was taking place at al levels in their organizations. Members saw their Institute as an important agent inlifting environmental awareness, literacy and responsibility not only through the journal and symposia, but also by liaison with government departments and educational institutions. Most respondents saw environmental legislation both from local and overseas sources as affecting their organizations, their products and services with the emphasis on corporate image, core business and sales.

Jan 1, 1995

By A. Haque

The shear behaviour of infilled joints produced from ordinary gypsum plaster (gyprock) and bentonite was investigated in the laboratory under Constant Normal Stiffness (CNS) conditions. Shear tests were performed on saw-tooth profiles having Joint Roughness Coefficients (JRC) of 4.75 and 9.25 under an initial normal stress (sno) of 0.30 to 1.10 MPa, and at a normal stiffness (kn) of 8.5 kN/mm. Test data under the same sno and infill thickness to asperity height ratio (t/a) were analysed for two different sets of JRC. The peak shear stress plotted against the t/a ratio under constant sno revealed an increase in peak shear stress with the increase in JRC, up to a t/a ratio of about unity. The effect of roughness on the peak shear stress was observed to be minimal when the t/a ratio exceeded 1.40. A mathematical model for the prediction of peak shear stress due to the increased infill thickness has been developed based on a hyperbolic stress-strain relationship and energy balance principles. The model predictions are in good agreement with the laboratory observations. Le comportement de cisaillement des joints remplis produits à partir de plâtre ordinaire et de bentonite a été étudié dans le laboratoire sous des conditions de rigidité normales constantes. Des essais de cisaillement ont été réalisés sur des profils en dents de scie ayant des coefficients de rugosité des joints (CRJ) variant de 4,75 à 9,25 sous un effort normal initial (sno) de 0,30 à 1,10 MPa, et une rigidité normale (kn) de 8,5 kN/mm. Le résultat des essais conduits sous la même contrainte et épaisseur de remplissage au rapport aspérité/hauteur (t/a) ont été analysés pour deux ensembles différents de CRJ. La variation de l'effort de cisaillement maximal contre le rapport t/a sous une contrainte normale constante a indiqué une augmentation de l'effort de cisaillement maximal avec l'augmentation du CRJ, jusqu'à un rapport de t/a proche de l'unité. L'effet de la rugosité sur l'effort de cisaillement maximal a été minimal quand le rapport t/a a excédé 1,40. Un modèle mathématique pour la prévision de l'effort de cisaillement maximal dû à l'épaisseur accrue du remplissage des joints a été développé sur la base de la variation entre contraintes hyperboliques et déformation et sur des principes de bilan énergétique. Les prévisions du modèle sont en bon accord avec les observations de laboratoire. Das Scherverhalten in mit gewöhnlichem Gips und Bentonit gefüllten Klüften wurde im Labor unter Bedingungen konstanter Normalsteifheit (CNS) untersucht. Scherversuche wurden durchgefürt für Sägezahnprofile mit Werten des Fugenrauhigkeitskoeffizienten (JRC) von 4.75 und 9.25 unter Normalspannungs-werten (sno) von 0.30 bis 1.10 MPa, und bei Normalsteifheit (kn) von 8.5 kN/mm. Testresultate für gleiche Werte von sno und Verhältnis Fülldicke zu Rauhigkeit (t/a) wurden untersucht für zwei verschiedene Werte von JRC. Die Beziehung zwischen maximaler Schubspannung und und t/a Verhältnis unter konstantem sno zeigte einen Anstieg der maximalen Schubspannung mit zunehmendem JRC, bis zu einem t/a Verhältnis von etwa 1.0. Der Einfluss der Rauhigkeit auf den Maximalwert der Schubspannung war minimal solange das t/a Verhältnis den Wert von 1.40 überstieg. Ein mathematisches Modell wurde entwickelt für die Vorhersage der Schubspannung die von zusätzlicher Fülldicke erwartet werden kann, ausgehend von einer hyperbolischen Spannungs-Dehnung Beziehung und dem Energiegleichgewichts-prinzip. Die Modellvorhersagen zeigten gute Uebereinstimmung mit den Laborbeobachtungen.

Jan 1, 2003

By A. E. Voigt

Iron ore samples representing the input and output of several jigging experiments were analysed to determine the effect of particle size, shape, and density on jigging performance. Traditionally, the manual measurement of the size and shape of individual particles is very tedious and prone to inaccuracies and inconsistencies. Using a novel multi-view imaging technique the 3-dimensional representations of each particle in the sample was determined. From this representation several size and shape measurements were extracted, and these were correlated with the individual particle density measurements. A rigorous investigation into the confidence associated with density and the size and shape features as a function of sample size was conducted, thus allowing the significance of correlations in the data to be determined. The jig?s performance was seen to be clearly sensitive to density and markedly so to particle size, while the results for shape indicated the need for continued work in the definition of particle shape.

Jan 1, 2012

By S. Marx

More than twenty years ago Sasol, ISCOR, and some parastatals played a major role in ensuring that South Africa had sufficient technical skills. When the economy became tight and business and government were pressurized to decrease costs, the first budgets that were reduced were the training budgets. It seemed to be too expensive and too time-consuming to train apprentices. According to Stacey2, this is a major strategic issue facing the mining industry in South Africa. Two factors added to the shortage of skills challenge: ? Skills erosion and job losses ? Artisans ? currently the economy produces 5 000 but the need is 12 500 ? Level of mechanization in South Africa less than 10 per cent ? Average age of operators and artisans is 50 ? Greater awareness of occupational health effects of hand-held drilling. ? Workplace challenges ? The impact of HIV/AIDS and other employee wellness issues ? Changes and challenges in workplace environment i.e. the mining industry.

Jan 1, 2012

By S-J. Park

When evaluating mining investment opportunities, one should consider the risks associated with mineral exploration and development. These are commonly classified as technical, economic, and political risks, and are accounted for in the investment decision by changing the discount rate. Thus, a company may use different discount rates associated with varying risks in order to compensate for the variability of success. The discount rate has a tremendous effect on the economic evaluation of mineral projects. Even when all other factors used as inputs for calculating the NPV (net present value) are equal, the project under consideration may be accepted or rejected depending upon the discount rate. Determining a realistic discount rate for a given project is therefore the most difficult and important aspect of cash flow analysis. It should be determined with the consideration of proper technical, economic, and political conditions surrounding the specific project undergoing economic evaluation. One key problem for determining the appropriate discount rate is that it typically depends more on subjective perception of the degree of risk or other experience factors than on a systematic approach. Thus, this study aims to identify, analyse, and document the type, role, and impact of risk factors influencing the determination of discount rates, and then to determine discount rate by using the aforementioned factors.

Jan 1, 2011

By M. Rossouw

The paper sets out the strategic importance of South Africa?s mining and minerals sector to the national economy. It relates how inexorable and accelerating urbanization and industrialization in emerging markets, especially in China and India, will translate into sustained demand for the minerals that South and southern Africa have in abundance. It warns that while countries buying raw materials from South Africa use these inputs as the basis on which to build value-added, employment-creating industries, South Africa is failing to exploit the economic benefits inherent in its mineral wealth, exacerbating its shortage of skills.

Jan 1, 2011

Broken Hill Mines-1968, edited by M. Radmanovich and J. T. Woodcock, published by The Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Melbourne, 613 pages. Price $A15. This volume, containing some 65 technical papers, was produced for the 1968 annual conference of the Australasian Institute held at Broken Hill to mark the 75th Anniversary of that Institute, founded at Broken Hill in 1893. That conference also coincided with the 85th Anniversary of the discovery of the Broken Hill mining field. This closely reflects the position in this country, where the Witwatersrand gold fields were discovered in 1886, and our South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy will in March, 1969 be celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the founding of the forerunners of our Institute. There is a comprehensive report of the geology of the Broken Hill area and the mineralogy of the ore body, and there are reports on the mining methods and the metallurgical procedures which have been developed over 85 years of operation of one of the great mining fields of the world. The value of most of the papers is enhanced by a large number of illustrations and photographs. An early section covers the academic and practical aspects of rock mechanics, prospecting, and exploration techniques are described in some detail. A third of the volume is devoted to mining, with papers on 26 aspects. The breadth of the coverage gives an indication of much specialized development, research, and consequent maturity in all departments. The detailed treatment of metallurgical aspects such as sizings of individual mineral particles throughout the milling stages and the development of an on-stream analysis system for lead will commend this volume to the specialist. The committee responsible for the production of this volume, which brings together much information previously only to be found after searching through numerous publications, are to be congratulated on a well produced comprehensive review of many aspects of the mining and metallurgical fields. H.B.

By P. Saayman

The mining industry has much potential for automation. A great deal of work has been done on this subject and is still ongoing. With automation comes the possibility for optimization, because more information is available and actions can be repeated with more accuracy. This paper looks at possible solutions to the problem of optimizing the autonomous vehicle dispatch system in an underground mine. Possible optimization strategies are evaluated using a simulated environment. The majority of the results indicate that improvements on current methods are possible. Keywords: mining automation, simulation, vehicles, dispatching strategy, optimization.

Jan 1, 2006

By L. Wade

The University of Nottingham, in conjunction with the University of Kentucky and The Society of Mining Engineers of America, hosted the International Symposium on Underground Mining Methods and Technology from 8th to 10th September, 1986. The programme was based on the central theme 'Coal Mining under Adverse Conditions'.

Jan 1, 1987

By FT Cawood

The latest Draft MPRRB was released for public comment in October 2006. The main purpose of the Bill is to collect royalties at mines developed in terms of new-order mineral rights granted through the MPRDA process. The transition phase stipulated in the MPRDA will be completed by 1 May 2009, on which date mineral royalties will become payable to the state. The royalty rates stated in the MPRRB differ from mineral to mineral and also depend on the degree of refinement. Gold is the subject of this paper, where the royalty rate ranges from 1.5% (for refined gold) to 3% (for unrefined gold) of sales revenue. This royalty is payable regardless of profit, with a maximum 75% relief for loss-making mines. The purpose of this paper is to establish whether or not it would be necessary for gold mines to adjust their mineral reserve statements as a result of this Bill. The methodology is to add the royalty costs stipulated in the MPRRB to the actual quarterly information for the past ten years as reported by the gold-mine members of the COM. The rationale is to investigate the impact this Bill (in its current form) would have had on gold reserves that must be left unmined in the ground because of a higher pay limit. The results of the study point to a significant impact on reserves available for mining with the subsequent shortening of mine lives and retrenchment of workers. Had the MPRRB been effective for the 10 years prior to 1996, it would have resulted in 46 tonnes of gold being sterilised. Stated alternatively, 30 700 workers at COM gold mines alone would have lost their livelihoods.

Jan 1, 2007

By M. Borowski, N. Szlazak, D. Obracaj

Methods of research and control of the intensity of gas inflow to undersoil layers, after the mines were abandoned are presented in the paper. Gas migration causes them to penetrate to lower storeys of buildings and earthen structures being a menace to people's health and life. The results of measurements of gas concentration in undersoil layers, gas emission to atmosphere and their accumulation in buildings on the territory of closed down mines are presented.

Jan 1, 2003

By S. Tshikhudo

This paper outlines an investigation into the recovery of saleable fractions of coal from ?as-arising? South Export Plant effluent streams, using Baleen microscreening technology. South Export Plant, a subdivision of BHP Billiton Energy Coal SA (BECSA) Coal Processing, is a two-module plant treating 2000 t/h. The nominally -150 µm coal is untreated and is therefore passed from classifying cyclones to the thickeners for process water recovery. The thickened underflow is pumped into a series of slurry cells for further settling and recovery of supernatant water. The marginal quality, moisture content, and handlebility of this settled material renders it unsuitable for inclusion into saleable products and it is thus stockpiled and trucked to designated pits for disposal. Over the years, stockpiling and trucking has become an overly expensive exercise. In an effort to recover some of this cost, a task team was assigned to investigate less costly options to process slurry across BECSA plants. Various technologies such as froth flotation, sieve bends, and Reflux Classifier were considered, although the results were generally not beneficial ? this could be attributed to weathered/oxidized coal. A decision was made to pursue an alternative approach by testing the suitability of the new ?Baleen Filter?. The concept is to screen out the higher-grade fraction (+50 µm) as saleable product and reject the finer fractions to the slurry ponds. The Baleen Filter was found to effectively screen at an acceptable efficiency between 94% and 99.99%, with a very sharp cut-point (d50 and Ep). The actual yields from the screening results were better than the predicted yields in terms of both mass and energy as predicted from feedstock analysis.

Jan 1, 2014

By A. F. van der Merwe, R-D. Taylor, M. Jacobs, F. H. Conradie

Total bound moisture (TBM) is a typical quality indicator of industrial-grade gypsum. This gypsum is comprised of three distinct phases, namely anhydrite, dihydrate, and hemihydrate, of which only the latter is of much industrial use. TBM analysis is a lengthy laboratory procedure, and an artificial neural network (ANN) TBM inference measurement is proposed as a fast and online alternative. An ANN inference model for gypsum TBM based on plant data was developed. The inputs to the network were primarily focused on the plant's calciner, and different network topologies, data divisions, and transfer functions were investigated. Furthermore, the applicability of the TBM value as a quality indicator was investigated based on a gypsum phase analysis. A strong correlation between TBM and the gypsum hemihydrate and anhydrite content was found, validating the plant target TBM of 5.8% as a quality indicator. A network topology consisting of one hidden layer with logarithmic-sigmoid (logsig) and pure linear (purelin) transfer functions showed the best performance (R > 90%).

Oct 3, 2023

By I. Ashmole

The dimension stone industry is not widely known or appreciated within the mainstream mining industry. This is in spite of the fact that the industry has grown at an average of over 7% per annum since 1980, and is estimated to now have a global turnover in excess of US$ 60 Billion per annum. Production technologies, particularly in the developed world where labour costs are high, have developed rapidly over the past two decades. Aligned with this, there has been a significant trend in adoption of a more professional mining approach in the exploration for and operation of dimension stone quarries. In fact, in the experience of the authors, mining a dimension stone deposit successfully if often more challenging from a mining engineering point of view than many conventional surface mines. This paper gives an overview of the industry and then proceeds to discuss best practice in exploration for dimension stone and to outline the latest technologies applied in mining of dimension stone. These technologies are varied and the specific combination of technologies applied in any given quarry is determined by both the physical properties of the material as well as the influence of geology which significantly impacts on the recovery of saleable material and hence the economics of the quarry.

Jan 1, 2008

By J. W. van der Merwe

Technology is advancing at a rate that makes it extremely difficult for the mining Industry to keep pace. Many advances occur within a given piece of technology and often this is missed by the disciplines that could have gained advantage by its implementation. Often this may have been simply an aspect of cost exceeding benefit. However, there are some technologies that potentially have such a far-reaching impact on the mining industry that the benefits simply outweigh the cost. The application of 3D laser scanning in the mining industry has the potential of taking the concept of ?Google maps?? underground. This presents an opportunity where the virtual world of underground can be traversed with relative ease and many aspects of measurements could be obtained without having to visit the working place again, potentially saving countless man-hours and still delivering precision work with significant savings in downtime, stoppages, and exposure to safety incidents. Anglo American Platinum maintains its competitive advantage though the review and application of appropriate technology. This paper describes the 3D laser scanning trial at one of Anglo American Platinum?s new shafts, and goes on to show the benefits encountered through the application and the involvement of the various MRM disciplines.

Jan 1, 2012

By M. Splaine, W. Davison, D. C. Atkinson

"Since 1964, Nchanga Consolidated Copper Mines, Ltd., has been developing and using production scheduling methods for optimizing its metallurgical operations in the short term (up to one year). Medium-range metallurgical planning has been possible only by successive evaluations of a single-year L.P. A modified version of Rosenbrock's direct search technique has now been developed to allow multi-year optimization of both mining and metallurgy for medium-range planning. The modifications to the search technique have produced a marked increase in computational efffciency for this heavily constrained problem in many variables and the system is a usable planning tool, given a reasonably powerful computer. The plans are 'optimum' in the sense that they yield the maximum present value of the operations.Each of the resulting five-yearly mine plans forms the basis for further detailed metallurgical evaluation by the established production scheduling system."

Jan 1, 2014

By N. P. Mabasa, N. Naudé, A. M. Garbers-Craig

An improved methodology is presented for assessing the economic feasibility and effectiveness of recycling MgO-C and Al2O3-MgO-C refractory bricks, which are widely used in the steelmaking industry. Since approximately 28 Mt of refractory bricks are discarded each year, it is logical to recycle them. When furnaces and ladles are relined, the spent refractory bricks become mixed up, and need to be sorted before recycling. This study examined the use of a hand-held X-ray fluorescence analyser (HH-XRF) to distinguish between spent oxide-based and oxide-carbon-based refractory materials, with special emphasis on spent MgO-C (MC) and Al2O3-MgO-C (AMC) bricks. HH-XRF analysis was conducted on 18 oxide-carbon refractory bricks as well as on MgO-chromite and bauxite-based refractories. X-ray diffraction, reflected light optical microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy were used to characterize the MgO-C and Al2O3-MgO-C bricks to confirm the accuracy of the HH-XRF analyses. This study also underlined the importance of calibrating the HH-XRF analyser for the refractory bricks to be sorted. The HH-XRF was successful in distinguishing between the different oxide-carbon-based refractory bricks both before and after cleaning. This result is important as it proves that HH-XRF provides a method whereby spent MC and AMC bricks can be sorted quickly and reliably.

Jan 26, 2023